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If you are anything like me you have lots of games you love to play. But you might have a few that hit the table more than others. Maybe they are your favorite. Maybe they are the go to game for introducing new players to the world of board games outside of games like Monopoly or Snakes & Ladders. Regardless of how much you enjoy a game you can get tired of it or have it become too formulaic to provide an enjoyable experience. When this happens don’t leave it on the shelf to collect dust! Find an expansion!

While not all board games have expansions many do. Most add additional features and methods of play to the original game. Some even add to the number of players allowed!

Here are a few expansion for popular games that I enjoy and have renewed my love of the game.

Ticket to Ride: Alvin & Dexter

Ticket to Ride is a classic game and is great for any skill level of gamer. It also has TONS of expansions you can buy, adding additional maps each with a few new and different rules. The Alvin & Dexter expansion is a bit of an oddball that adds a tad more “take that” to the game. Alvin is an Alien in his UFO and Dexter is a Dinosaur both represented by cute little figures. Players to get place them in different cities and while either monster occupies the city, players are unable to build routes into or out of that city. By spending a locomotive card you can move either of the monsters to other cities. At the end of the game routes with a monster in them are worth less points and players can get bonus points for having moved the monsters the further. It’s a cute expansion that adds very little in the way of complexity but adds a ton of new strategy.

Lords of Waterdeep: Scoundrels of Skullport

Scoundrels of Skullport is a great expansions because it is in fact three expansions in one box! The first is the addition of the Grey Hands faction which allows a sixth player! Always love an expansion that adds another player to the game.

The second expansion is the Undermountain Module. Fans of Forgotten Realms will be excited to see the Undermountain made an appearance in the game. The extra side board adds a few new locations for your workers to go with more risk and rewards for those who dare adventure beneath the City of Splendors.

The third expansion is Skullport or “The Port of Shadows”. This is a side board that tracks a new mechanic called “Corruption”. Corruption introduces negative points that take away from your end game score, so you have to balance the appeal of cards and resources that will cause you to accumulate Corruption versus the loss of points you’ll incur during end game scoring.

Talisman: The City

Talisman is a classic game that has been around forever. It is also a game that is easy to keep fresh thanks to the host of expansions that have been put out over the years. Each add their own theme and rules. The City for example adds a corner extension to the board (as some other expansions do as well). In addition it adds new playable characters, alternate endings, shops, items and so much more. This one expansion will add hours of new life to this classic, imagine how many hours of fun you can get with all ELEVEN official expansions on the table!

These are just a couple of expansions out there. Which expansions do you love? And what games do you think it is time to add and expansion to? Maybe we can help you find one!

Chris has been working in the comic and gaming industry for more than ten years and is an owner of Heroes' Beacon. He enjoys reading comics, playing board games, painting and playing miniature war games.